Which actress played Cleopatra in the lost 1917 silent film Cleopatra?
Answer
Theda Bara
Theda Bara played Cleopatra in the lost 1917 silent film Cleopatra.
Directed by J. Gordon Edwards for Fox Film Corporation, the production presented Bara as the legendary Egyptian queen. The film also featured Fritz Leiber Sr. as Julius Caesar and Thurston Hall as Mark Antony, adapting elements from Shakespeare and earlier Cleopatra dramas.
The movie was a major silent-era spectacle, with elaborate Egyptian sets, large battle scenes, thousands of extras, and more than 2,000 horses. Bara’s heavily publicized image as an exotic “vamp” helped make the film one of 1917’s biggest attractions.
Cleopatra is not completely absent: only about a minute of footage is known to survive, alongside still photographs and promotional material. A common mix-up is confusing Bara’s performance with later screen Cleopatras, including Claudette Colbert in 1934 and Elizabeth Taylor in 1963.